Him and Her
by Love the Brightest Star
Summary: It started as the meeting of two young students who became fast friends, it ended in tragedy far before it should have, before it could reach its deserved happy ending. This is a tale of friendship, love and loss in the times of war — the story of Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon. (On hiatus)
1. First Sight

**Hi guys! So I'm here again, with my second multichapter story (second Blackinnon too, I see). This is going to be a long ride, sketching the lives of Sirius and Marlene from the start of Hogwarts to Marlene's death, so buckle up your seat belts! I hope you will enjoy this.**

 **Before we start off, there are a few things I'd like to clarify:**

 **1\. This story will focus on various glimpses of Sirius and Marlene's life instead of being a continuous one (that would be too long and beyond me), like a collection of chronologically ordered one-shots. But most of them, of course, will be connected.**

 **2\. Please read the dates mentioned in the beginning of each chapter to get a better understanding of the story, as some chapters will be set months apart, while some others, only days.**

 **3\. I have tried to keep things as canon as possible. And I intend to complete this story, so please have faith in me.**

 **Anyway, that was a long A/N. Moving on... All aboard! Let's get started.**

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 **First Sight**

 _1st September, 1971_

The scarlet train drew up into the little station of Hogsmeade in a billowing cloud of smoke. The doors opened, and students began to jump down onto the platform, dragging down their trunks with them, and some, hooting owls in cages. The previously quiet station was suddenly filled with youthful chatter.

"Hey, Alice!"

"Are you coming, Darren?"

"Come on, we need to go find a carriage!"

Among the crowd of seniors, the eleven year old students looked around in varied levels of confusion and nervousness. Some knew what came next; others had only a faint idea, while some simply stood in puzzled silence and trepidation, not having the least idea what to do.

Sirius, of course, was not nervous. Well, he told himself so. All right, the sheer number of students milling around was overwhelming, but it was fine. He waited with his trunk behind him, waiting for what was about to come. He could not wait to see the Hogwarts castle. Even his stingy aunts and cousins had given such glowing accounts of the place; he simply couldn't wait to see it himself.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" a booming voice was yelling over the hubbub of the crowds of students, old and young. Sirius took it as his cue to move. He looked around for James, his new friend, but the bespectacled boy was nowhere to be seen. He shrugged. He must have got separated in the crowd. He went over to the source of the voice, which turned out to be an enormous man with a bushy beard and beetle-like black eyes.

"Four to a boat!" he was saying, ushering students towards an array of little boats that bobbed on the dark waters of the Lake. "Not more than four in one boat! Come on, yeh lot."

Sirius walked forward towards one, only to bump straight into another student.

"Oomph!"

"Ouch!"

"I am sorry," he said automatically, the manners that had been drilled into him kicking in immediately. "I didn't see where I was going."

"It's okay," a feminine voice spoke, and he got a good look of the other individual. She had lovely shoulder-length blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She grinned at him. "Share a boat with me?"

He nodded and stepped into the boat after her, sitting down carefully. Two other students joined them, and the boats started off on their own, like a ghostly fleet.

He bid his time between staring at the rippling dark waters and inspecting the other students in the boats with him. One was a rather stuck up looking boy (he strongly suspected him to be a proud pureblood), and the other was a short girl with chestnut hair. She looked very shy. He decided that he wasn't interested in either of them. He turned to the golden haired girl he had bumped into. She was looking out into the distance with a gleam of interest in her eyes.

"So, what's your name?" he asked her.

"Marlene McKinnon," she replied with a smile. Sirius vaguely recalled his father speaking of some McKinnon once, whom he had had to meet at the Ministry. "And yours?"

"Sirius," he replied, withholding his surname. He had noticed quite early in life that most magical folk (apart from stuck up purebloods) didn't take too well to the name Black. Well, he couldn't blame them. His parents weren't the best of people.

"Sirius what?" she asked. Sirius frowned, feeling annoyed and yet liking the girl's inquisitiveness and sense of detail. He had used the same tactic on James too, and the boy hadn't noticed anything.

"Well, don't you have a surname?" she asked when he didn't answer.

"I do," he retorted.

"Tell me, then."

"Does it matter? You will find it out during the sorting anyway."

She huffed. "What's in a name?"

"I can ask you the same thing, you know, only turning it around," he said, a grin creeping up on his face.

She huffed again, and then sighed, defeated. Then, without warning, she burst out laughing.

He looked at her, wide-eyed, wondering if she was mad.

"What?" he asked, puzzled.

"Oh, nothing," she chuckled. "You are a funny guy. I like you, Sirius Whatever-Your-Surname-Is."

He grinned. He wasn't sure how long she would like him, especially if he got sorted into Slytherin, because she certainly didn't seem to be Slytherin material, but this was good for now. They spent the rest of their journey chatting happily with each other, just two children who had developed quite a liking for each other at first sight.

-o0o-

"Black, Sirius!" Professor McGonagall's voice rang out sharply. Sirius gulped. The Great Hall had gone deadly quiet at the commencement of the Sorting, and then everyone broke into low mutterings. Of course, as a Black, everyone expected him to be a Slytherin. But he didn't want that. When he had boarded the train, he had wanted to be different from his family, and the desire had only got stronger after his meeting with James and Marlene. He wanted to be anywhere, anywhere but in that house.

 _Not Slytherin, please,_ he thought as the hat was placed on his head, despite knowing the consequences of his wish. Gryffindor seemed fabulous, and Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were good enough as well. Just not Slytherin. A few seconds later, the hat cried out, "Gryffindor!"

Silence reigned for a few seconds, and then whispers broke across the hall like wildfire. At the Slytherin table, his cousin Narcissa was looking scandalised, an expression that was written on the face of every Slytherin. But his eyes sought only the line of first years as he seated himself at his house table. James was clapping enthusiastically and cheering. He searched for Marlene. As he found her ocean eyes from across the hall, she gave him a big smile and mouthed, "Nice, Black."

He grinned back, and his grin only widened when the said two sat down by his side only minutes later.

He had a new home. And a new family. He was happy.

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 **So how was the start? Please, please leave me a review. Let me know of your queries and suggestions. Virtual love to all reviewers!**


	2. Lost in the Castle

**And here's the second chapter. I hope the first one didn't disappointe you.**

 **Thanks to Hillstar for reviewing and Fea just me for favouriting and following.**

 **Disclaimer: Not mine. I wish it were, though.**

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 **Lost in the Castle**

 _10th September, 1971_

"Marlene, hurry up, or we'll be late for class!" Lily's voice was getting steadily high-pitched as her nervousness increased. The redhead was bouncing on her heels, getting more and more unstrung with every passing minute.

"I'm coming, I'm coming — now where's my Transfiguration book?"

Marlene had woken up late that day, and Lily, being the good friend that she had so soon proved she was, had given up on breakfast while the blonde tried to get her appearance anything close to neat. Her blonde ponytail flying as she looked around for her books and quills that seemed to have chosen just that morning to go missing, Marlene McKinnon was quite a mess.

"Marlene—!" Lily sounded on the verge of tears now.

Their first class was McGonagall's, and Lily Evans clearly didn't intend to get a blot on her perfect reputation anytime soon. But the problem was that Marlene's book hadn't even offered a glimpse just yet. The other girls in their dorm had already left.

"Lily, listen," Marlene said, forcing a fake calm into her voice, "just go without me. I don't want you to get late because of me."

Lily teetered on the edge of her decision, biting her lip in hesitation while a part of her clearly itched to leave.

"But —"

"Go on, I'll follow in a minute. Give McGonagall my excuses if I'm late."

After another second of hesitation, the redhead nodded.

"See you!"

And in a flurry of red hair and black robes, she was gone from the dorm.

It took Marlene five more minutes to find her copy of A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration, and another five to set all her things right in her bag, and then, she was rushing down the corridors and climbing up the stairs almost blindly.

It was only after she had slowed her pace down to some extent that she realized that her surroundings seemed unfamiliar, and were certainly not those which she had got accustomed to seeing near their transfiguration classroom. She bit her lip in nervousness. Where had she gone wrong?

All this week, Michael and Malcolm, her elder brothers, had insisted on walking her to all her classes, insisting that they "could not bear to see our baby sister getting lost", and it had taken a lot of screaming and yelling on her part to convince them that she would be able to manage just fine by herself. And here she was, lost on the very first day she had been left alone by her overprotective brothers.

 _But where did I go wrong?_ Marlene simply couldn't understand. She had followed all the instructions that her brothers had practically drilled into her head — left turn, walk straight, up a couple of staircases — what was wrong?

And then it struck her.

" _There's a staircase on the way to the Transfiguration classroom that takes you to a different place every Friday. Remember that."_ Michael's words echoed in her head. And today was Friday.

 _Shit._

She should have taken the other way, which the others probably had taken. How could she forget?

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

Marlene felt like crying. Now here she was, somewhere in this huge castle with no clue where to go. How was she supposed to reach her class now? A tear leaked out from her eye.

"Hello! Marlene, isn't it?"

She turned around towards the source of the voice, hurriedly wiping her eyes on her sleeve. Steadily staring at her was that boy she had shared her boat to school.

"Sirius, right?" she pulled up a smile despite her anxiety. He nodded.

"What are you doing here? Don't we have class now?"

"I — I got lost," she admitted reluctantly.

"Oh! Then we can go to class together!" he grinned broadly, not losing a sliver of his brightness. She nodded, falling into step beside him.

"Thank you."

"No need," he waved her off.

He added after a brief pause, "I never got around to talking to you much after the first day."

"Yeah, that's true," she conceded.

Although they had got on well the first day, they really hadn't interacted much other than polite smiles and small talk ("Could you please pass the salt?" or "I wish Binns' lessons were even a bit more interesting." "Who doesn't?"). He mostly walked around with the other three Gryffindor boys in their year, and he and James were practically inseparable already. And while James himself was a good friend of her (they had known each other since they were kids), she hadn't been able to talk to him much as Lily, her now (and new) best friend, had taken a strong dislike to him.

They walked ahead together, chatting away with each other. Marlene's panic slipped away in Sirius' jolly company. That boy was like a burning torch, he had such a cheery character.

"You know the way, don't you?" she asked, almost lazily, at length. The question was, she believed, quite unnecessary, given the confidence in Sirius' behaviour.

"Um, well, I'm lost too, you know," he said sheepishly.

"WHAT?" Her heart stopped for a second, her panic returned full force. "I had been counting on you, Sirius!"

"Merlin, relax, McKinnon! We'll find the way."

She huffed, but only kept to his side only because there was no one else to go to. And to be honest, his cheerfulness _was_ infectious.

But as he had said, she needn't have worried. After a few instructions from the portraits who were only too happy to offer help, they found themselves in front of Professor McGonagall's classroom.

"Told you we'd reach our destination," Sirius grinned at her.

"Yeah, well, thanks," she smiled at him.

"So, friends?"

"I'd love to be." Their hands met in a firm handshake.

"Now let's go in and face the music." Sirius gave her a slight push. She nodded, and together, they opened the door and stepped in. At once, the entire class looked at her.

"Miss McKinnon, Mr Black, may I know why you are late?" Professor McGonagall's severe face greeted them.

Marlene would have been surprised at herself when her hand found Sirius' and held it tightly, had she not been looking down on the floor in shame and fear.

"Sorry, professor, we got lost." It was Sirius who answered on her behalf.

McGonagall's expression softened ever so slightly.

"Although I am aware that this problem is common among new students, I must request you to be more careful henceforth. You may take your seats."

Nodding gratefully, they walked over to their benches. As he neared his seat, Sirius arched an eyebrow at their still joined hands. Blushing, Marlene dropped it.

"Thanks," she mouthed, and made her way to sit beside Lily. As she passed, she heard James say to his friend, "I told you I could have waited behind for you."

Smiling, she sat down in her place. Lily gave her a raised eyebrow at her unwavering smile. Marlene only shrugged, bending forward to begin taking notes.

 _I just got a new friend,_ was her only thought. And somehow, she felt sure that this friendship was not going to be one to break off easily.


	3. Mischief Managed

**And here's the third chapter! Thanks for Kalavinka for the lovely review and Kalavinka, JustAGirlWriting and Infernalbooks for favouriting and following.**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own.**

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 **Mischief Managed**

 _9th March, 1972_

"Ready?" Sirius asked his three friends, carefully cradling the goods he was carrying.

"Yeah, let's do this!" James said with a mischievous grin.

"Are you sure about this?" Remus spoke up, his quiet, composed voice full of uncertainty. He was eyeing Peter who was standing beside him, looking every inch a very nervous little boy.

"Come on, Lupin, don't be such a spoilsport now," James said with a dramatic eye-roll.

"Of course we are sure of this," Sirius replied. "Aren't we, Peter?"

"Y-yes, of course," Peter agreed immediately, although he looked anything but that. Remus sighed, but recognising defeat in the matter, kept quiet.

The Marauders (name chosen by Messrs James Potter and Sirius Black in a moment of boyish excitement) were at the moment huddled round a corner close to the Slytherin common room in the dungeons. Their weapons included a host of dungbombs (borrowed from third years, more specifically, the Prewett twins, who were allowed Hogsmeade visits and had no objection in letting their fellow students attempt at some odd joke), some muggle glitter, and a bucket full of water, which was at the moment being levitated high in the air by James.

"All remember the plan?" Sirius looked around.

"Yep!" James grinned back.

"We do," Remus sighed, probably wondering how he got roped into this.

"Aye aye, captain!" Peter said cheerfully enough despite his nervousness.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard from across the corner. Footsteps that were approaching them.

"Now's the time!" James urged in a whisper as the sound came closer and closer. "All ready now — one, two, and three!"

At 'three', James removed the levitating charm from the bucket, Remus threw the packet of glitter, and Sirius and Peter chucked a dungbomb each at the approaching individual.

Sirius couldn't help smile as he saw the pandemonium break out and heard the shriek of shock. The prank had been perfect. Now they only had to wait until the cloud of glitter moved away, allowing them to see their victim's face.

"Mischief mana—" he began to say, but the word stuck in his throat as the person came into view.

In front of them was, drenched to the skin, covered with glitter (and the stench of the dungbombs could be smelt even from where he stood) — Marlene McKinnon.

He looked around at his friends. All of them wore identically horrified expressions.

"Marlene — I —" he began, unsure what he was going to say. The girl stared at them in shock, covered in glitter and cold water, her face slowly turning red with anger.

"You — you —" her voice shook with anger, and as the few people who had walked up to them by then began snickering at her looks and wrinkling their noses at the noisome smell, she whipped around and rushed away, a tear slipping from her eye, her face red with mortification.

"Merlin," Sirius murmured, hitting his forehead with his palm, "That sure went well."

-o0o-

The Marauders sat in the Gryffindor common room in awkward silence. All four were thinking about their prank-gone-wrong.

"We should apologize." Finally Remus spoke out their thoughts with a heavy sigh.

"We should," James agreed, all his swagger blown out of him as he wondered just how mad his old friend (and the best friend of Evans) would be at them. Peter and Sirius nodded too, and as one unsure and (for once) nervous group they shuffled out of their chairs towards the girls' staircase.

"Uh, guys, we can't get up there," Peter pointed out, the first one to voice the obvious problem.

Thankfully, they were saved from the trouble of waiting all the time at the base of the staircase by the appearance of Emmeline Vance, a girl in their year.

"Hey Emmeline!" Sirius called as she proceeded to climb up the stairs after flashing them a small smile. "Could you call Marlene for us?"

"Okay," Emmeline returned with a nod and disappeared up the tower, before reappearing moments later.

"She says she doesn't want to see you," she informed them. "What did you guys do now?"

"Uh, we..." None of them could bring themselves to narrate the incident.

"Call her, please," Remus begged. "Tell her we want to say sorry."

After two very long minutes, Marlene McKinnon came down the stairs. Her hair was messy and her skin raw and red, as if she had spent a long time scrubbing herself. Her eyes were bloodshot.

"What do you want?" she asked tonelessly, not meeting their eyes.

"We are sorry, Marlene," Remus began, always the most tactful one. "We never intended to prank you. We're so sorry. Aren't we, guys?" He looked pointedly at his friends, James and Sirius in particular, because while they had acknowledged their mistakes, the two had a massive ego.

"Yes, yes, of course," James said quickly.

"We are very sorry, Marlene," Sirius agreed.

"Forgive us, please?" Peter's quiet voice came in the end. Marlene sighed.

"Very well. It's okay... Just don't do it again, please," she said half-heartedly. Her eyes remained hard.

All four nodded earnestly.

"Thank you," Remus said. "We'll never do this again."

They stared at her as she moved to a chair in a corner and sat down.

"Well, that's done," James said, a relieved smile on his face. "Anyone ready to head out to the lake?"

His offer was met with ready affirmatives, and all four headed towards the portrait hole. But as Sirius turned back, his eyes caught Marlene, sitting silently. Something held him back.

"Um... You guys go ahead," he said. "I'll join you in a while."

His words were met with curious looks, but then Remus nodded, and dragged the other two out. As the portrait swung back in place, Sirius went over Marlene.

"Hey," he greeted as he sat down in an armchair beside her.

"Sirius," she acknowledged, no smile lifting her face, unlike always.

"You didn't forgive us, did you?" he asked quietly, the observation only just dawning on him.

"I said it was okay."

"But you didn't mean it, did you? You're still angry."

"Well, of course I am!" she exploded suddenly, making him jump back in shock. "What did you expect? You lot and your stupid prank... Do you have any idea how embarassed I was? _Everyone_ laughed at me, Sirius! They _laughed_ at me. And do you have any idea how much I had to scrub to get all the glitter and that smell off?"

Sirius gaped at her for a few seconds, stunned at this uncharacteristic show of rage.

"It was a mistake," he tried to explain. "We were trying to prank Slytherins. What were you doing down there?"

"I was going to see Slughorn about this week's homework." She crossed her arms over her chest. "And do you realise just how stupid your plan was? Just because you were by the dungeons doesn't mean you will get only Slytherins. You could even have pranked a professor."

At her words, Sirius realised how true they were. That had been the biggest glitch in the plan. How did they not see it? He was suddenly very thankful that it was only Marlene who had got drenched and covered in glitter and stink.

"It was a mistake," he said again. "We're sorry."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "Sorry because it was me? What about the other someone who would have got it had he been the victim?"

Sirius stared. "Come on, you can't possibly be supporting the Slytherins?"

"I'm just saying it's not funny, Sirius. Laughing at someone else's expense, it's not nice. Pranks are stupid and annoying, Lily's right about that one. _You_ are annoying idiots, Sirius! All of you."

"That isn't true," he protested, trying to overlook her insult. "Pranks can be played without hurting anyone."

"Yes? Well, show me."

He sighed and got up, staring at her intently. "I will. And for the record, I'm sorry."

-o0o-

When Sirius reached his friends by the Lake, it was all too clear by their expression that he had stayed back longer than 'a while'.

"There's something I wanted to tell you," he said as he dropped down on the grass. "I want another prank. Tonight."

-o0o-

That night at dinner, all the students filled into the Great Hall, completely unaware of the looks and nods and gestures that were being exchanged by the four first year Gryffindor boys. It was when the golden plates appeared, and just before the appearance of the food, that it happened.

With whoops and whistles, a bunch of fireworks shot into the air, and amidst the shocked exclamations of the students and the confused stares of the teachers, burst in a splendour of light and colours.

People whooped as the fireworks sparkled and crackled, emitting an array of colours. But as the display came towards an end, all the colours of the fireworks mingled to form a large rainbow, and their sparks, glittering, rose towards the ceiling, shining brighter than the stars on the enchanted ceiling.

Everyone fell silent as the colours slowly disappeared, staring in open-mouthed awe. Then the applause broke out. Sirius looked up to see even Professor Dumbledore standing, clapping with a smile on his face. Dodging the piercing stare of Professor McGonagall, who was scanning the Great Hall, trying to catch a glimpse of the culprit (whether for a telling off or praise Sirius did not know), he exchanged high-fives with the other three of his friends, who wore equally broad grins at the success of their feat. And then he moved down the Gryffindor table to the person he wanted to talk to.

She was sitting with Lily and the other girls, her eyes still shining with amazement as she stared at the remaining glitters float in the air.

"Well, how was it?" he whispered, squeezing in to sit beside her. She jumped, then turned to look at him with a smile on her face.

"It was great," Marlene admitted. "Thanks for the show."

"So you admit pranks can be harmless?" he grinned.

"Yes, yes," she chuckled. "I was wrong. You all did a good job."

"So we're okay? All forgiven?"

She laughed, and drew him onto a quick hug, taking him by surprise. "Yes, Sirius, we are okay. Just—" she looked him in the eye, "—grow up a bit, please."

"But there's a lot of time left for that!" he exclaimed, feigning horror. "What's the hurry?"

And leaving her chuckling and shaking her head and muttering about him being insufferable, he returned to his friends with a smile on his face.

"Mischief managed," he murmured as he sat down.

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 **How was it, then? Like it? Hate it (no flames , though, please)? Just hit that review button down there and tell me. :)**


	4. Friends

**Hi all! Hope you are enjoying this story so far. Just clarifying, this chapter will mark the end of Sirius and Marlene's first year. The next one begins in their second year.**

 **Thanks to Raven that flies at night for reviewing and favouriting, and Tingting26021996 for following. And a special thanks to Kalavinka for another lovely review. Love you all :)**

 **Disclaimer: Owning Harry Potter? Only in my dreams.**

 **Enjoy :)**

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 **Friends**

 _17th June, 1972_

"Sirius!" she called, skidding round the corner to chase him down the corridor.

Her legs were so much shorter than his; they couldn't carry her fast enough, and she was already out of breath. He wasn't even running like she was, only taking long strides, and yet he was so much ahead of her.

"Sirius, wait up!"

Her footsteps echoed loudly on the stone floor, ringing through the vacant corridor. His, on the other hand, were quiet, giving no indication of his presence; she would have missed him had she not actually seeing him walking ahead. And my, he was walking fast. Was that boy an athlete or what?

He kept going faster and faster, ignoring her calls; she was steadily losing him. She rounded a corner towards the way he had gone, and came to a standstill. The entire length of the corridor was empty. He was nowhere to be seen. She looked left, right , and left again, but Sirius Black had disappeared into thin air.

"Oh dear..."

She screamed suddenly as someone covered her eyes from the back. She tried to shake the hands covering her vision off, but the person's grip was firm. Moments later, her vision had cleared, and she found herself looking at the snickering face of Sirius Idiot Black.

"Did I scare you?" he asked with a teasing smile.

"What did you do that for?" she all but snapped at him. He raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Hey, no need to get huffy. I was only trying to surprise you."

"Yeah, congrats then, because you were certainly successful."

She frowned, but her lips twitched as she looked at him. He was such a dear, it was impossible to remain angry with him. Just looking at the way he was pouting, looking at her with that extremely adorable lost puppy face, she felt her annoyance wash off her in a second.

"Why were you running away from me?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted saying them, because his cheery expression slipped off his face like a mask. He sighed, his dark hair falling into his face as his head lowered, and began walking away from her. Merlin, what was the matter with him?

"Hey!" She caught up with him this time, and took hold of his sleeve. _Not letting go of you this time, Sirius Black!_

He turned towards her reluctantly, exasperation and mild irritation evident in those grey eyes.

"What?" he asked wearily.

"Talk to me," she instructed.

He sighed again, which was really odd; he looked like a lovelorn young man to Marlene. All she had ever seen of him was a cheery, almost hyperactive boy who could make her laugh anytime; this down-in-the-dumps variety of Sirius Black was alien to her. She wished he would just tell her what was wrong; his strange demeanour was making her nervous.

"Today is the last day of our first year," he said at last.

"I know that," she said, not knowing what he meant to explain by that.

"I don't want to go home."

She didn't ask why; one of the many things she had found about Sirius ever since she met him was the rule 'don't ask too many questions'. If he wanted to tell you something, he would say it on his own, otherwise, no amount of coaxing was going to make him. And anyway, Marlene had a fair idea why he didn't want to go home; his parents didn't seem to be the nicest people — the series of howlers which they had sent after he got sorted to Gryffindor was enough proof of that. So she silently waited for him to speak again. He did.

"Will things be the same when we come back next year?" he all but whispered.

Her eyebrows rose; Sirius being insecure? She had never seen him like that.

"Of course they will, you idiot," she laughed. "You lot will still be the Marauders (it was a rather ridiculous, but interesting name which the four first year Gryffindor boys had taken to calling themselves) and play loads of pranks and get detention from McGonagall , James will still annoy the hell out of Lily, and we will all have fun together. Just like this year, maybe even more, hmm?"

He smiled slightly, but still looked uncertain.

"Will you still be my friend? I've been a bit of an idiot sometimes."

"'A bit' and 'sometimes'?" She laughed. "That would be the understatement of the century."

"I know," he said, the little confidence left in him squashed out like a pricked balloon. "Evans is a much better friend —"

But before he could finish his sentence, her eyes softened, and she pulled him into a hug.

"Oh, Sirius, of course I will be you friend," she said. "You'll never have to worry about that. I was only teasing you."

He smiled, a big smile this time, still wrapped in her embrace.

"Thanks Mar," he said, surprising her; no one had ever called her that. "You mean a lot to me."

Her breath caught for a second; did that mean that she was as close a friend to him as James, Remus and Peter? On second thoughts, she didn't know why his words delighted her so much, but they undeniably made her smile wider.

"That's strange coming from you," she teased. "Don't you think girls are prissy?"

"Oh, yeah," he played along. "What came over me to have been talking to you, McKinnon? I must go see James. Your company will ruin me."

They laughed, both his uncertainties and her concerns vanishing into the air. He tugged at her hand.

"Come on, Marls, let's go down to the Quidditch pitch! I'd like a last fly before we go to the feast."

She let him pull her away, grinning as they rushed to the Quidditch lockers to nick a couple of Shooting Stars. If he was worried about going home, she would ensure that he had a fun last day.

The next day, when the students filed up on the station to board the London bound Hogwarts Express, Marlene couldn't suppress a smile when she saw Sirius laughing with James, Remus and Peter, his face bright, his hands moving about animatedly, none of his fears of the previous day visible on his face.

Yes, she thought, _that_ was her friend. That was _Sirius Black._

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 **So hopefully I haven't disappointed you. Oh, and please, please review. It's just pressing that little button and typing a few words for you, but a whole bunch of inspiration to me :)**

 **Until next time, folks. So long.**


	5. Christmas

**Hey all! New chapter's up! I think I'm later than usual, sorry about that (my internet gave up on me). Second year begins here.**

 **Thanks for Kalavinka and Infernalbooks for your lovely reviews. And to isn'tshelovely for following.**

 **Disclaimer: Never owned.**

 **Enjoy!**

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 **Christmas**

 _25th December, 1972_

It was Christmas. The entirety of the Hogwarts castle was cloaked in pure white snow, making the already surreal looking castle seem like a thing out of a muggle fairy tale. The Lake had frozen over, resembling a gigantic frosted mirror. To put it briefly, the entire scenario was extremely beautiful.

The cold wind blew around, beating against the glass windows of the Gryffindor tower.

"Marlene, wake up!" a familiar voice called out from the right.

"Go away, Lily," the blonde witch moaned from the sanctuary of her four-poster bed. There was a sigh from the redhead.

"Marls, it's Christmas!"

Marlene sat up straight.

"Oh! It's Christmas!"

Christmas was Marlene's favourite time of the year. The snow, the celebration, the gifts – she simply loved this day.

She hurried down from the bed, squatting down to the floor by the pile of brightly wrapped gifts, only to find her best friend, Lily Evans sitting in a similar position by her own bed.

"Should have known that Christmas was the key," Lily giggled.

"You're such a child, Marls."

"Hey!" Marlene huffed playfully, "We are all children, in case you forgot, Lils."

She turned her attention to the gifts. Oh, how she loved opening those brightly coloured wrappers and finding out what was inside! With each coloured paper that fell apart under her nimble fingers, she squealed with joy like a six-year old. Her friends just knew what she wanted. She only hoped that her parents hadn't made the same mistake this year too —

Marlene opened the wrapped parcel that her parents had sent for Christmas, and sighed. Purple. Again. Couldn't her mother ever remember that she hated purple? It was Michael's favourite, certainly not hers. Why couldn't they send something she liked, for once? She loved getting nice woolly gloves, but in that horrible shade of purple? Ugh.

Her parents always mucked up her choices. They did it every year. Sometimes it made Marlene wonder if they did it on purpose, just for a laugh, or if they were finally going barmy with age...

She was about to shove the new woolly gloves down her trunk, like she had pushed away a pair last year, and turn to the rest of her much more promising gifts, when a familiar voice called her name from the common room.

"Coming!" she yelled, and abandoning her earlier endeavours, ran down the stairs, gloves in hand.

Sirius was grinning up at her from an armchair by the roaring fire, a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans in his hands. He was wearing a red Christmas cap on his head. Marlene skipped the last few of the stairs and ran into his arms, tackling him into a hug.

"Merry Christmas!"

He laughed and ruffled her hair affectionately. He seemed to do that quite often.

"A very Happy Christmas to you too!" He took off his cap and held it out for her to see. "James' parents sent this for me. Isn't this great?" he asked enthusiastically.

She grinned and nodded, suppressing a giggle. He did look comical in it, with his rather aristocratic looks clashing horribly with the Santa cap, but the article itself was nice. And Mrs Potter had without doubt, made it herself with a lot of love.

"Thanks for the book. I loved it!" she exclaimed, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You're welcome," he replied. His eyes fell on the pair of purple gloves clutched in her hands. "Your parents sent this?"

She looked down and nodded, grimacing. He looked puzzled at her reaction.

"Don't you like it?"

"I hate purple. I like blue, but mum and dad always forget. Mum keeps confusing my choices with Michael's. The pains of having so many siblings."

He laughed. "Tell me about it."

"Oh no, you will get bored listening to my blabbering."

"Of course I won't, Marlene. What do you take me for? I would love to get to know about your family," he smiled. "They have to be better than my own, anyway," he muttered to himself, but she pretended not to notice.

So she began speaking as they made themselves comfortable in the cosy armchairs, occasionally popping a couple of Every-flavoured Beans from the box that he had been holding. She talked about her parents, her five brothers and sisters and her hoard of cousins and uncles and aunts, how Michael and Malcolm, her elder brothers, always teased her, how managing the baby Maria was so much of a bother, how her mother always kept confusing her choices and preferences with those of her siblings, how she would like someone to really give them a little more of their time and attention, and finally, how, despite all her problems, she loved her family more than anything.

She stopped to look at him, expecting him to have dozed off or something out of the sheer monotony of her rambling. But he was listening with rapt attention, and as she finished, he gave her a big smile.

"You have a lovely family," he said sincerely.

"Thanks," she replied bashfully.

"Enough about me. Now you tell me..." she thought for a moment, "What Christmas presents did you get?"

He grinned, and began ticking the list off his fingers. "James gave me a fantastic wizarding chess set, Remus gave me a stash of Honeydukes' best chocolate — honestly, I could swear that guy is in love with chocolate — Peter gave me this box of Beans, James' mum a tub of chocolate gateau and this cap —" As he finished his list, Marlene noticed that he had not mentioned anything from his parents, but she did not comment on it.

"It's a nice day," she said. "What do you say about a snowball fight?"

He gave her a wicked grin. "You're on. Beware of my deadly skills."

Half an hour later, half of the population who had stayed in the school were rolling and running about in snow, screams, squeals and laughter ringing everywhere.

And as Marlene said, it was a nice day.

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 **How was it, then? I know this is light and no suspense, nothing, but it will come soon, promise. Until next time :) Meanwhile, please lighten up my days with your reviews :)**


	6. Prankster

**Hey guys, I'm back! So this chapter is going to be the last for second year (I'm lazy, I know, but I want to hurry to the better parts).**

 **Thanks to Sparkleforreason for reviewing and more 1 weasley for following. Also, a special, special thanks to Kalavinka for being such a constant support. Love you all!**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Prankster**

 _12th March, 1973_

It was a quiet evening in the Gryffindor common room, which was a surprising fact in itself, seeing as it was a Saturday. But as it so happened, the place was more or less empty, with only a few inhabitants occupying the best of the squishy armchairs, engrossed in their respective work. There were four first- years sitting in a corner, gossiping quietly, a couple of fifth years lazing around with a chess set, and such others. The fire burnt brightly, casting a warm glow to the room. And perhaps the most significant reason for the unusual peace and quiet was the absence of the four Marauders in the common room, the absence of three of them, to be precise.

Sirius was sitting by the fire, finishing his Transfiguration essay. He happened to be the only one of the second year Gryffindor boys there. James had gone to wear himself out on the Quidditch pitch (the boy had got into the Gryffindor team this year, and although he kept acting like he was a professional, Sirius knew that he was actually quite nervous about keeping up a good performance), Remus had gone to the library and Peter had tagged along too because he wanted help with his Charms work (and Merlin knows Sirius couldn't stand being silent for hours on end or otherwise suffer the wrath of Madam Pince, that horrid woman).

He had finally lost himself completely in the essay, with his hand moving quick and smooth over his parchment, when he heard muffled sounds of commotion in the corridor outside. Seconds later, the portrait hole opened, and a very dishevelled, out of breath Marlene McKinnon tumbled into the Common Room, effectively shattering the peaceful atmosphere.

At once, all pair of eyes in the common room raised themselves to look at her. She blushed a little, but otherwise disregarded the attention. Her eyes quickly scanned the room as she picked herself up, and landed on Sirius. She nearly knocked him over, quill, ink pot and all, in her haste to reach him.

"Hide me, quick!"

He raised an eyebrow at her, but observing the sheer urgency in her demeanour, pointed towards the second year boys' dormitory. _What did the girl get herself into now?_ She gave him a grateful smile, and the next moment, she was gone.

The room quietened again now that she was gone. Sirius got a few odd looks from the rest of the students, but ignoring them, flexed his arm to resume his work. But his concentration had been heavily disrupted, and try as he might, he couldn't immediately get his mind to refocus on the fundamental laws of transfiguration just yet. Sighing, he dropped his quill on the table. Now he would have to waste another half an hour some other time finishing this stuff.

He had barely leaned back in his arm chair and had begun to think about how comical and yet adorable Marlene looked with her red cheeks, rumpled uniform and her hair askew (he would later wonder why that line of thought had entered his mind in the first place), when the portrait hole opened a second time.

The gazes of all the occupants once again fell on the newcomer, but the person did not pay the slightest heed to the fact that she was being stared at (rather avidly, I might add) by the entire common room. Her narrowed eyes scanned the room with a predatory sharpness.

Lily Evans looked the very personification of a dragon, with her chest heaving and her eyes flashing. She even looked ready to breathe fire. But what drew Sirius' attention was her hair, from which a gooey, greenish liquid was dripping down to the carpeted floor.

"MARLENE!" she roared.

But of course, the blonde was nowhere to be seen.

"Have you seen Marlene?" she asked Sirius when she noticed his presence.

He shrugged, trying to act nonchalant, his face rapidly turning red with the effort of suppressing his laughter.

"Got to you, did she, Evans?" he asked with a small (highly repressed) smile.

"Oh, don't talk about it," she groaned, reaching with her hand to wipe some of the gooey mess which had slipped down to her face.

"I will find you, Marlene McKinnon!" she called out to the common room in general. "And then you will regret this!" And with that, she stormed up the girls' dormitory.

As soon as she was gone, Sirius broke into helpless fits of laughter. Well, he wasn't alone. After a moment of shocked silence, most of the common room had burst into laughter, from nervous giggles from the first years to snickers from the seniors. Still laughing, Sirius abandoned his homework and went up the stairs to his dormitory.

Marlene was sitting on his head, wearing a sheepish grin.

"Didn't know you had prankster blood in you," he grinned at her.

"She woke me up too early in the morning, so I made her pay," she said with a smile, shrugging.

"Well, she will make you pay once she finds you," he laughed, dropping down on the bed beside her.

"Oh no, I am doomed!" she cried in feigned panic. "Can I live in with you boys till her rage passes?"

"I doubt that you will survive our messy ways and smelly socks," he chuckled. "But I dare say that you would have made a nice marauder, you know."

She brightened up, her cheeks flushing a bit in pleasure.

"Hey, thanks!"

"So are you up for a round of exploding snap, seeing as you are hiding in here for the while?"

They settled down on the soft four-poster bed, and spent the hours in happy banter, and by the time Marlene left, a few strands of her golden hair were dark and singed, but she didn't mind, because she was too busy laughing at Sirius, whose right eyebrow was a charred mess.

The next day, however, Marlene didn't look too happy with her hair a shade of blue matching with her eyes, and Lily Evans had earned a new-found respect in the eyes of the Marauders for her magical skills and pranking abilities.

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	7. Caught up in the Storm

**And we have another chapter! Firstly, thanks again to Kalavinka and Sparkleforreason for reviewing.**

 **Kalavinka - Yes, I found that the fluff was getting a bit excess too... too sweet. The problem is, the draft of this story was written a few years ago, and it was pretty fluffy in the starts. So carrying on based on that had it being pretty fluffy and light in the early chapters, which you pointed out.**

 **Sparkleforreason - I understand your need for longer chapters, but as I said, this story is largely prewritten, so the length of chapters are stuck between 1000-2000 words. But I'm trying to pull it out, to make the chapters longer... I'll try to stand by your suggestion :)**

 **Anyway, your suggestions had me writing up this new chapter; it's plenty longer than the rest. Hopefully it will be dark enough and long enough for you. Thanks for the inspiration :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

 **Caught up in the storm**

 _26th August, 1973_

It was a regular weekend at Diagon Alley, the crowds swollen to twice the usual number at the last-minute shopping for the upcoming Hogwarts session. Even at the early hour of ten-thirty in the morning, people were clamouring inside and around the shops, rushing to get the best possible bargain.

Sirius walked stiffly through the crowd, his mother's tight grip on his wrist almost painful now. Regulus walked beside him on his mother's other side, the manicured fingers clasping his hand noticeably gentler. One didn't have to look far to see who was the preferred one here, he thought bitterly.

Going to Diagon Alley for his school shopping with his parents wasn't his favourite way to spend a weekend, not that he had any choice in the matter. He was actually surprised that they were still spending their gold on high-quality stuff on him, after all the shame he had apparently brought on them for the last two years. Still, as long as he bore the name Black and had his name on his family tapestry, he supposed it was something they had to do.

The only thing he looked forward to on this trip (after one whole terrible hour of acting stiff and aloof), was that he would be meeting his friends. All of them — James, Remus and Peter, and Marlene, had planned up to get together for a while, as they had a spot of shopping still left. Evans was spending the last weekend with Marlene, but she and the rest of the girls in their year were meeting up earlier. Unlike Marlene, she had declined their (correction — James') offer to have a sundae with the Marauders, because, of course, she couldn't stand them.

Sirius hadn't told his mother anything about this, of course, knowing that she would never let him go meet 'those blood traitors and filth' (thankfully, she didn't know Remus' secret). He was hoping to give his family the slip in the crowd. He'd be punished later, of course, but he could stand that.

It was only when his mother got particularly involved in an argument with the owner of the Apothecary that Sirius finally saw his chance. Taking careful steps backwards without once letting his wary eyes leave his mother, he reached the door. Regulus turned to look at him, and his eyes widened.

 _Where are you going?_ he mouthed. Sirius only winked and gave him a little wave of his hand, and as quick as the wind, he was out.

He did not pause for a second until he was sure he was quite far away. He was supposed to meet the others at Jean Fortescue's ice-cream stall, and hurried that way, his heart thumping with a joy and excitement that only rule-breaking offered.

They were waiting when he reached the ice-cream parlour. Before he could get a word out, he was being hugged by several people, back to back.

"Peace, gentlemen," he laughed. "And lady," he winked at Marlene. "I'm all yours."

James, Remus, Peter and Marlene were all there, grinning from ear to ear.

"It's so good that you came," James said, his eyes bright. "We were having our doubts."

"Your mother let you?" Remus asked, although his face told him that he already knew the answer.

"You wish," Sirius smiled easily, "I ran away when I had the chance."

"But — won't you get into trouble?" Peter's eyes were wide with worry.

"Who cares?" Sirius shrugged with some feigned nonchalance.

"Sirius, you shouldn't have!" Marlene exclaimed, appalled. "Now if—"

"Oh, come on, guys, just leave it, okay?" Sirius sighed. "We'd better get our ice-creams instead of wasting our time like this." They didn't look satisfied, but nobody argued the prospect of getting an ice-cream.

Soon they were slurping away happily at the cold desserts and laughing and talking.

"Pity Evans didn't come," James sighed.

"She said she'd be anywhere rather with you," Marlene informed him.

"Even with Snivellus?" James said with a ridiculous pout.

"Sadly, yes," Marlene replied with all the sobriety she could muster, which wasn't much, seeing the valiant efforts the other three were making at not laughing.

They spent five more minutes finishing their ice-cream.

"Hey, did you check the new Nimbus 1500 at the Quality Quidditch Supplies?" James asked suddenly.

"No! I can't believe they've put it up already!" Sirius positively glowed with excitement. "Let's go see it!" The four boys stood up at once, their faces bright.

"Coming, Marls?" Sirius extended his hand to Marlene.

"No, you lot go. I checked it out already." Marlene loved brooms and Quidditch as much as the Marauders, but she found the habit of drooling in front of the shop window ridiculous. "Why don't we meet up in, say fifteen minutes? I'll go check the pet shop for a while. I want Dad to buy me an owl. I'm sick of borrowing Malcolm's all the time."

With quick nods and smiles, they parted.

-o0o-

Marlene lazily walked out of the pet shop, her hands in her pockets. There was this tawny owl she had absolutely loved; now she only had to convince her family. She wondered if they were done with buying Michael and Malcolm's stuff and giving in to her younger siblings' whims and fancies yet. She was glad that her own shopping was essentially over, remembering with a shudder how Mabel had dragged them into a shop full of glitters and fancies last time.

She was just about to check her watch to see if she was late already when she spotted a familiar head in the distance. She squinted, trying to confirm her guess, but there was no doubt about it — it was her brothers' good friend from school, Jonah Hill.

She had known Jonah since she was very young; she loved him like her own brother. They had lost touch over the last year, after he graduated, but Marlene felt a spark of excitement at seeing him again.

"Jonah!" she called out. "Jonah!"

But the milling crowds between them were too loud; he didn't hear her. Marlene shuffled forward, trying to push through the rows and rows of pillar-like bodies. She wasn't very successful, her thirteen year old body not adequate for the task.

"Jonah! Hey JONAH!"

But her efforts continued to be in vain. The young man simply walked on, his curly honey-blonde hair twirling in the breeze.

Finally, the crowds thinned away. Pushing past the few remaining individuals, Marlene managed to reduce the distance between them. She was about to give another call when she became aware of her surroundings, and the shout died in her throat.

She had been so engrossed at reaching Jonah that she had not noticed how far she had followed him in.

The buildings that rose around her were dark and dull, a far cry from the cheery familiars of Diagon. There were fewer shoppers around, and somehow, none of their faces seemed friendly. Marlene had never been to this place, but she recognised it from the descriptions by her seniors — the place her parents had forbidden her from visiting the first time they took her out shopping — Knockturn Alley.

"What some fresh eyeballs, dear?" an old woman croaked from a corner. "At a bargain, too!" Frantically shaking her head Marlene fled down the lane. Her reason dimmed by the surge of panic, she tumbled straight into Jonah.

"Jonah! Oh, _Jonah_!"

He looked down at her angrily, and then his eyes widened.

"Marlene? Why are you here?"

"I— got lost," she admitted in a small voice.

"Well, that's unfortunate. Now why don't you run along? I have work to do."

"Didn't you hear? I _got lost_." Marlene seethed. This cold, distant person was nothing like the boy she had known for so long. "What are _you_ doing here, Jonah? In _Knockturn Alley_?"

"That's none of _your_ business! Now if you know what's good for you, get lost —"

"What's this, Hill? So eager to please? You brought us a hostage!" In the heat of the argument, Marlene hadn't noticed when Jonah had stopped. They were in a darker part even by Knockturn's standards, in front of a dingy looking pub. The pub's door opened and a hooded figure walked out.

"I—" Jonah began uncertainly.

"No problem. I'm pleased. You'll be a good recruit," the cloaked figure said.

Marlene's head was reeling. Recruit? What were they talking about?

"Jonah—" she began, unsure what to say. It proved to be a mistake. The cloaked man turned to her.

"And what of you, pretty? Did no one tell you not to wander about in Knockturn Alley?"

"I got lost," Marlene replied, trying hard to keep her voice from shaking, her hand slowly reaching for her wand in her trouser pocket. She wasn't very proficient at duelling — they hadn't been taught too many offensive spells at school, but she had to try.

The man opened his mouth to speak again. Quickly, Marlene pulled out her wand and yelped, "Expelliarmus!"

The man's wand flew from his hand. Not waiting to look again, Marlene made a run for it.

A mistake again. She hadn't made through ten steps when a rough hand gripped her. Marlene screamed, trying to hit out at at her captor, but her hands and legs did little to make a difference.

"Slippery," a voice commented. With mounting horror, she realised that there were four more people dressed in black now, standing in the alley. The man holding her wrestled her wand out of her hand, and tossed her roughly to the ground.

"Nuisance," he grunted. "Hope you don't mind, Hill. I'm not going to let this one go."

Marlene looked beseechingly at her brothers' friend.

"I'm sorry, Marlene," he said with something like genuine regret. "I did tell you to leave."

The dark-clothed man advanced at her, his wand raised.

"See ya, girlie," he leered. "Here's to the removal of a potential enemy."

-o0o-

"Time's up, you lot," Remus informed the three boys at still drooling at the shop window.

"Aww, just a minute, Remus," James didn't move his eyes from the broom. Remus sighed.

"Marlene won't be happy of we're late. Besides, we have to get home soon. Now come _on_!" And with that, he dragged three reluctant bodies away from the shop.

But when they reached the pet shop, Marlene wasn't there.

"Maybe she went off to convince her dad to get her the pet?" Peter suggested, but the theory wasn't very convincing. It wasn't at all like Marlene to leave like that.

"Excuse me," Sirius asked a man lounging nearby. "Did you happen to see a girl our age here? Blonde hair, blue eyes? She was wearing a lavender shirt and black trousers."

The man scrunched his eyebrows thoughtfully. "I think I did," he said. "She went off that way, calling after some bloke."

The four boys went ahead, asking around people for Marlene. Fortunately, a fair few people had noticed her. Finally, they reached an area where the crowd was noticeably thinner. Sirius stopped, turning pale. James noticed.

"What is it, Sirius?' he asked.

"Uh, guys, I really hope we're wrong about Marlene being here," he said quietly. "Because this route leads straight to Knockturn Alley."

Peter turned white. "D-do we have to go?"

"We need to find Marlene. We can't waste our time hesitating here," James said determinedly. He took a deep breath. "Let's go."

-o0o-

Marlene closed her eyes tight as she waited for the man to yell out a curse. _I'm sorry,_ she thought, _Mum, Dad, I shouldn't have been such an idiot._

But the spell did not come. Marlene opened her eyes by a crack. Jonah was holding the man's hand.

"What's this? Let go, you fool!" he grunted.

"Are you sure this is necessary?" Jonah's eyes darted around nervously. "You could just—"

"If you want to join, Hill, leave it to him," another one of the men growled. "Or if you like, we could finish you off too—"

Paling, Jonah stepped back, his store of courage obviously exhausted.

"And now—" the man turned back to Marlene.

"Stop!"

Marlene looked up, startled, at the familiar voices. Standing there in the mouth of the alley were four boys she knew only too well. But through the rush of relief that coursed through her, Marlene felt a jolt of panic.

They shouldn't have come.

-o0o-

Sirius wasn't sure whether to be glad or to worry when they finally found Marlene. For one thing, she was alive and fine, although there was a bruise on her wrist. But on the other hand, she was surrounded by several cloaked men, and Sirius had a fair idea who they were.

But anyway, he wasn't one to back out of a fight, and neither were his friends. He squared his shoulders and pulled out his wand.

"Leave her alone."

To his annoyance, though he had rather been expecting it, Marlene's captor burst out laughing. "So these are your heroes, princess? A bunch of scrawny little boys?" His mates joined him in jeering.

Beside Sirius, James gritted his teeth.

"Impedimenta!" he shouted. The nearest man was thrown off his feet, and crumpled to the ground.

The laughter was cut off abruptly.

"Not bad," one of the men sneered. "But you're no match against us, boys."

And that was how they all found themselves fighting for their lives.

Sirius knew that the Marauders were the most advanced in their year in magical skills (and no, he wasn't being vain), but they could not match the strength or the skills of five able bodied adults. Plus their limited knowledge of spells as compared to the array of curses that the men aimed at them did not help their situation.

Even as he used his best jinxes and hexes against them, Sirius could see that they were losing ground. Marlene had retrieved her wand and was up, fighting, but she was limping. James and Remus were up against three of the cloaked men, trying to shield Marlene. Peter had already been disarmed and bound, and as for himself, he was having a tough time against his own opponent, a slim individual whose face was hidden under his hood, who was deflecting every one of his spells.

"Furnunculus!" he barked ooutur, only to have it blocked again. Then, without warning, a spell hit him right on the chest, making him double over, pain blooming. He coughed, and a speck of blood came up with the spit. His opponent sauntered over to him.

"Well, well, if it isn't my dear fiancée's naughty little cousin! I have heard a lot about your mischiefs, boy."

Trying to ignore the pain, Sirius looked up. The man had dropped his hood, revealing a handsome aristocratic face, the lips curled up in a sneer. It was the man Bellatrix was betrothed to — Rodolphus Lestrange.

"You're a good fighter. Plenty of spirit." Rodolphus brought his face close to Sirius'. "You need to be tamed, don't you?" he whispered conspiratorially in his ear. "And who does it better than your mother?" Horror spreading on his face as comprehension dawned upon him, Sirius struggled, but his wounds made him too weak. Rodolphus hauled him up by his shirt. Sirius tried to shout, but he had suddenly been silenced. He wondered if any of his friends had noticed his situation. It was unlikely.

Rodolphus' smile was maniacal. "Time to say au revoir to your friends, Sirius."

And in a rush of black robes, Sirius' surroundings melted away.

-o0o-

When things around him turned solid again seconds later, Sirius found himself in Diagon Alley. He felt dizzy and close to fainting. Trying to gain a grip on the heightening nausea, he tried to analyze the situation.

Rodolphus was holding on to him tightly. And steps away from him, glowering like a thundercloud, was his mother. He had no idea how he had known, but somehow Rodolphus had understood that he had run away from her, and by yet another method, managed to disapparate to the very place his mother was in.

"Mrs Black," Rodolphus walked up to her suavely. "I found you son. I assume he had run away?"

Walburga Black's eyes zeroed in on him, and her face went a 180-degree change.

"Oh, Rodolphus! How generous of you, you sweet boy! Sirius is such a nuisance..."

"I understand, ma'am," Rodolphus smiled demurely. "I believe he got into some trouble. He's quite a sight."

Somehow, he had managed to keep his own clothing spotless clean, while Sirius was covered in dirt and blood.

"Thank you, Rodolphus. Do visit us at times."

With that and a few more sickening pleasantries, Rodolphus handed Sirius and his wand over to her, and looking every bit a lovely young man who had never been the reason Sirius was in this state, he disapparated with a pop. Instantly, Walburga's grip on him turned vicelike.

"We're going home," she hissed to him.

"No! Let me go!" Sirius fought with the last of his strength, which wasn't much, and easily overriding it, Walburga pulled him into darkness.

Once they were in 12, Grimmauld Place, Sirius found himself roughly tossed to the floor. Dismissing Regulus with a wave, Walburga turned to him, her face turning white with rage.

"Shame of my flesh!" she screamed at him. "I allow you the kindness to visit Diagon Alley, and you have the audacity to run away! Look at your condition! Sullying the name of Black —"

Finally, Sirius could hold back no longer. "SHUT UP!" he roared. "You have no idea — my friends—!" His anguish made it difficult to express his feelings coherently.

"Kreacher!" his mother called over his shouts. The old house elf appeared with a crack.

"Yes, Mistress?"

"Take him to his oom. Clean him, but if he is hurt, let the pain be. Let this be a lesson for him."

The next moment, Sirius found himself in his room. With his elf magic, Kreacher cleaned him up instantly, but the throbbing in his chest did not recede.

"Master Sirius has been naughty," he was muttering under his breath. "Master Sirius is a worthless young man, ruining the reputation of his house, oh yes, —"

"Get out!" Sirius kicked out at the elf. "Out, you stupid elf!" Casting him a malignant look, Kreacher disappeared.

For a second, Sirius stared at his room, grey walled with posters and banners screaming out his house and character. He was here, locked up in a safe box, while his friends were in danger of their lives. His mother had confiscated his wand, so he couldn't reach out to them even if he tried. With a howl of rage, Sirius crashed his fist onto his writing desk. Splinters of wood flew up, causing blood to ooze from his hand, adding to the pain his body was already suffering. Hot tears ran down his eyes as he thought of James, Remus, Peter. Of Marlene. How were they? They were fighting out there, and he...

There was nothing he could do. Nothing.

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 **And that's it! Don't be miffed that I hung it up like that; you'll find the rest of it in the next chapter. Meanwhile, how was it? Good? Bad? Suggestions? Just review and tell me.**

 **See you again in two weeks! :)**


	8. Recollection and Reconciliation

**Hi everyone. Here I am with the next chapter for you. Thanks to fredandgeorgerule and d-aisychains2 for favouriting and following, and Raven that Flies at Night for the review.**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own.**

 **Enjoy! Please R & R.**

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 **Recollections and Reconciliations**

 _1st September, 1973_

"I'll be okay, Dad," Marlene pulled up a smile as she pushed her trunk towards the scarlet train waiting at platform 9 3/4. "No mistakes this time. And this is Hogwarts."

Mr McKinnon nodded, but the worry lines on his forehead did not recede. "I know, Marlene, but be careful. You are hurt as it is," his fingers brushed the scar running down her forehead and her left arm, which had, only days ago, been covered with ugly bruises, "and I don't want anything bad to happen to you again." His expression became stern. "No getting into trouble. Of any sorts. Is that clear?"

Marlene nodded hastily. "I'll be fine. Don't fret." But she herself felt shakier than she had in a long time. She had come to the station with her father and Malcolm; her mother had stayed back to look after her younger siblings. Michael had wanted to come, but his injuries were yet to be healed enough for him to step out of the house.

The Hogwarts Express gave a loud whistle, steam hissing out.

"I need to go," Marlene hastened to grab her trunk. Malcolm stepped up.

"Go on, sis, I'll carry it for you."

"But Malcolm —" Marlene eyed his still scarred hands.

"I'm fine," Malcolm smiled easily. "Now let's get a move on, or you will be late."

Walking ahead of their father, Marlene and Malcolm moved towards the train, Marlene carrying her new owl in the cage, and Malcolm her trunk. He hauled it up on the train before Marlene.

"Be careful, okay?" he asked, eyeing her with a rare seriousness. "Stay safe."

"I will, don't worry," Marlene smiled, hugging him. "Hogwarts is the safest place in the world. You take care, brother. Look after the others."

Malcolm laughed. "You know I do." And mussing up her hair one last time, he let her board the train, his brown eyes full of concern.

-o0o-

Marlene waved at her family until the train left the platform, and then sighed. Somehow, she did not feel the same carefree happiness while boarding the train like usual. She wondered where her friends were. She got up to look for them, but then sat back down. In a bit. For now, she needed to calm herself.

It had been five days since the attack in Knockturn Alley, and yet she was so badly shaken from the incident, it felt like yesterday. The sense of grim foreboding chased her everywhere. Pressing her forehead against the cool glass of her window, Marlene shut her eyes, taking deep, calming breaths. No thinking about that day. Keep calm. But even as she thought that, Marlene knew she was failing miserably.

 _Marlene didn't know how much longer she could stay on her feet. Every spell she fired seemed to demand more and more of her depleting energy, and her entire body ached from the way the man had thrown her to the ground. Her leg hurt like hell; Marlene strongly suspected a broken ankle as she limped away to dodge a curse._

 _"Petrificus totalus!" she yelled at her opponent, and to her surprised delight, he froze and fell to the ground. Momentarily relieved, Marlene relaxed a bit, putting her weight on her good leg. Now she could help her friends..._

 _Someone gripped her tightly by her ponytail. Marlene yelped, losing her balance._

 _"Now, girl," the person holding her rasped, "give us your wand, won't you? You don't want to end up like your friends, I'm sure."_

 _Marlene struggled, but it only caused her scalp to hurt like hell as her hair was pulled, so she fell back, defeated, and scanned the scenario._

 _Remus was on the ground, struggling to get up, purple bruises around his eyes and on his cheekbones, while one of their enemies held a wand to his throat. Peter was tied up, tears in his eyes, hopelessly fighting against his bonds. James was flat on the ground, his eyes shut and glasses askew. Only the rise and fall of his chest gave Marlene some relief from the panic that threatened to clamp down around her as she looked at him. And Sirius... Sirius was nowhere to be seen._

 _Marlene swiveled her head as much as her opponent's grip on her hair would permit, but she caught no glimpse of her best friend._

 _"Sirius!" she called. Where was he? "Sirius!"_

 _At her voice, the others seemed to notice their friend's absence. Peter took up her call in a quivering voice. Remus, disregarding the wand at his throat, looked around wildly, and tried to get up, only to be brutally thrown back. But their attempts were in vain. Sirius did not appear._

 _"No need to fret, children," a voice spoke from the shadows, and a young man stepped into their sight. From his figure, Marlene recognised him as the man Sirius had been duelling with. Except that now, he had lowered his hood, revealing his face._

 _"You might be relieved to hear that your friend is safely in his home."_

 _"You're lying—" Marlene began._

 _"I delivered him myself. To his mother."_

 _Marlene closed her mouth with a gasp as she understood the meaning behind the words. The worst person Sirius could meet at the moment was his mother. The very thoughts of what she might do to him made her shudder._

 _"You—" Remus snarled, his face surprisingly wild and dangerous._

 _"Oh, but you should be happy." The man smiled. "At least comfort yourself by the fact that your friend will stay alive. For you, however, I cannot guarantee that."_

 _"We can, though," a voice called from a distance. And her brothers, Michael and Malcolm, stepped into the light._

 _"Leave Marlene alone. And her friends too," Malcolm glared at them._

 _"I'm sick of interruptions," the man holding Marlene grumbled. "Can't we get done with this? Finish the lads off, Rodolphus."_

 _Rodolphus gave a long-suffering sigh, and then the fight began._

 _There were two men still holding Marlene and Remus, so Michael and Malcolm were up against three. But they proved themselves more than adequate. Marlene flushed with fierce pride for her brothers as they downed one of the opponents within two minutes._

 _With a growl, the man holding Marlene left her to join the fight. Remus' captor followed suit. Taking immediate opportunity of her freedom, Marlene rushed over to Remus._

 _"Are you okay?" she asked anxiously, helping him up._

 _"I've been better." He smiled wryly. "But we must get moving."_

 _They hurriedly reached Peter, who was trembling from head to toe in his bonds._

 _"Do you think that man... Rodolphus, he was telling the truth? About Sirius being at home?" Marlene asked Remus as they fumbled with the cords._

 _"I think so," Remus replied. "If I am thinking on the right lines, and if I remember correctly, then this man is engaged to Sirius' cousin Bellatrix. He wouldn't want a family member of his fiancee's to be killed at his hands, would he? And anyway, taking him to his mother in this situation is no less of a punishment."_

 _Finally, the ropes came off Peter, who stood up unsteadily, and then they rushed over to James. He was still senseless._

 _"What do we do about him?" Marlene fretted as they shook him hopelessly._

 _"I know the charm to awaken a person... but I've never used it. I don't know if it will work."_

 _"Oh, do try it!" Peter said in a trembling voice._

 _Remus took a deep breath. "Rennervate!"_

 _There was a moment in which they all held their breaths, and then James' eyes fluttered open._

 _"Wha—" he mumbled. Marlene tackled Remus to the ground in a fierce hug._

 _"Marlene, I appreciate it, but now's not the time..." Remus blushed._

 _"Oops." Marlene let him up. "Thanks, Remus." She smiled at him tearfully._

 _But the moment was broken by Michael's exclamation._

 _"Jonah!"_

 _Marlene swivelled around. She had completely forgotten about the young man, because of whom the entire ordeal had occurred._

 _Michael and Malcolm were both staring at their old friend, open-mouthed._

 _"Don't tell me — You're not —" Malcolm spluttered. For a second, a look of pain and grief passed through Jonah's face, but the next second, a sneer had taken its place._

 _"I am. And so what? What will you do about it, McKinnon?"_

 _Michael looked devastated. "Why?" he whispered._

 _"Why?" Jonah gave a wild laugh. "Why not? It's you who's on the losing side, Michael, not me! And not everyone is like you, sticking to your own doom like a fool that you are."_

 _Rage contorted Michael's face. "You —"_

 _But the next moment, he was on the ground, blood spurting from his back. The man who had been holding Marlene limped forward._

 _"One down." He looked at Malcolm. "And now you—"_

 _"No." The voice came from Rodolphus, who was standing up with difficulty. All the men, Marlene noted with relish, were rather badly injured. "We've wasted enough time and effort. Let's go. Hill, are you coming?"_

 _Jonah nodded, and in a flutter of black cloaks, they disappeared. The men who had been unconscious — there were two of them, remained._

 _Marlene hurried over to her brothers._

 _"Michael! Are you—"_

 _Michael cracked a feeble smiled. "'M okay, sis. Let's get out of here."_

 _Both of them were badly injured. Michael, apart from the back injury which still leaked blood, had a cut running down his arm and cheek; Malcolm's hands were purple with bruises, and there were random cuts here and there._

 _Together, supporting each other, the six of them slowly walked out of the alley._

 _"How did you find us?" Marlene asked as the thought struck her._

 _"Tracking spell," Malcolm explained. "We were afraid you'd get lost on your own." For once, Marlene did not get annoyed sy her brothers' protectiveness. She smiled gratefully._

 _"Michael," she mumbled after a while. "Jonah — what was he—"_

 _"He's a Death Eater, Marley," Michael whispered angrily. "He came to join."_

 _"No— he —" Marlene didn't realise she was crying until Peter wiped a tear from her cheek. "Oh, Michael..."_

 _"I know, sis," Michael smiled sadly, and the pain in his eyes told Marlene he was suffering a hundred times more. "I know."_

"Marlene!"

Marlene looked away from the window, startled at the sudden transition from Knockturn Alley to Hogwarts Express, before she managed to gather her bearings. She was vaguely surprised to find tears in her eyes. She hurriedly brushed them away.

Lily Evans was standing at the door of the compartment. Before Marlene had a chance to speak, she had been gathered into a tight hug.

"Hi, Lils," Marlene smiled at her, gently prying her best friend off herself.

"Oh, Marls, I heard what happened that day. I'm so sorry... I should have stayed with you."

"Don't be silly!" Marlene mock-glared at her. "Of course you have nothing to be sorry about. I'm glad you weren't there, Lily." She looked away, trying hard not to think about the incident again.

"How are you?" Lily's face was a study of concern. "And the others?"

"I'm fine. And I exchanged letters with the others after getting back home... they are okay, although they were hurt. And as for Michael, his injuries were a bit severe; he stayed back. Malcolm's managed; he came to see me off."

"I'm glad," Lily gave a relieved smile. "The boys... where are they?"

"I didn't see them yet. I was just about to go find them when you dropped in."

"They weren't too badly hurt, were they?" Lily asked anxiously as they looked from one compartment to another.

"Well, somewhat... Remus was banged up pretty bad , and Peter had been tied up." Marlene wondered if Lily had noticed her not mentioning Sirius.

"And... Potter?"

"He had been knocked out, suffered other injuries too. But he said he's fine. We'll have to see."

"Good." Lily gave a sigh of relief.

"Lily Evans! Would you like me to tell dear James how anxious you were to check his well-being?" Marlene grinned slyly.

"Don't you dare, Marlene! I was just trying to find if he was alive and okay," Lily huffed, her face colouring.

"Ah, ah..."

"Shut up!"

-o0o-

They finally found the Marauders and slipped inside their compartment. Or more specifically, three of them — James, Remus, Peter.

"Hey Marls!" James grinned at her from the Chocolate Frog he had been munching on. "Evans! How nice of you to drop in!"

Lily said nothing, only gave him the littlest of nods and sat down beside Remus.

"Of Remus, Peter, I'm so glad you're okay," she smiled at them. Peter had more or less got over the fight by appearance; all signs of wounds were gone from his body. Remus, however, looked worse for wear, his scars from the last fight adding to his already battered appearance. Whatever he suffered from must be pretty bad, Marlene thought sympathetically for the umpteenth time.

"Aw, Evans, what about me?" James was giving Lily a pleading look.

Marlene gave Lily a sidelong glance, and Lily gave her a 'don't you dare' glare, before sighing and turning to James.

"I'm glad to see you safe and sound, Potter," she said grudgingly, and immediately turning her face away, but James looked as if Christmas had just come months earlier; Marlene giggled.

"Where's Sirius?" she asked once her amusement had worn off.

"We didn't see him," Peter told her. "We were expecting him to turn up, but he never did. _This_ is our compartment. We always sit here. Sirius knows that."

Marlene frowned. She had sent a letter to Sirius as soon as she had reached home and was in a state to write, asking him if he was okay and letting him know of the details of the fight. His reply had come two days later, during which she had been going mad with worry, and it had been extremely brief and not like Sirius at all. The same thing had happened to the letters the other three boys had sent to him. Something was wrong with her best friend, Marlene knew, and she was worried.

"Well, we'll see him in school anyway," she tried to comfort herself as much as the others.

-o0o-

"...welcome the beginning of another school year," Professor Dumbledore was saying. Marlene looked over to the spot in the Gryffindor table where the Marauders were sitting, about a dozen people away from her. Much to her relief, Marlene saw Sirius sitting beside Remus. But she immediately noticed that there was something wrong with him. Unlike always, he was stiff, his expression wooden. He made no attempts to talk to his best friends. Marlene saw the other three make brief efforts at conversation, but none of them lasted long. Something was definitely wrong. Forgetting everything else, she began to get up and go over to talk to them.

"What are you doing?" Lily hissed, tugging her back to her seat.

"I want to talk to Sirius. Something's wrong," Marlene whispered back.

"For heaven's sake, Marlene, can't it wait until the feast is over?"

And so Marlene had to sit through the feast until dessert appeared. Then, she chanced a glance at where the Marauders were sitting. And stared. Sirius was gone.

Ignoring Lily's calls, she made her way to the three boys.

"Where's Sirius?"

"He said he wanted to be alone," Remus said. He looked confused and troubled.

"What's wrong with him?"

"We don't know," James sighed. "He wouldn't tell. He isn't even talking to us properly. So much for looking forward to seeing him."

"I'll find out." And disregarding the three boys' queries and calls, Marlene walked out of the hall.

It was not until she stood in front of the Fat Lady's portrait that she realised that she hadn't asked the new password from the prefects. Damn.

"Looking for young Mr Black, dear?" the Fat Lady put in helpfully. Marlene started.

"How—?"

"I suppose telling you the password wouldn't hurt?" she winked. "The young man knew it, you know. Ah, clever, that one. And handsome."

But Marlene wasn't about to wait for the Fat Lady's musings about Sirius. "Er, the password..."

"Ah, yes, it's 'Puckwudgie'," the Lady grinned as the portrait swung open. "And by the way, you could thank the Monks for me, for their excellent old wine!"

Rolling her eyes, Marlene started forward. That woman was dippy.

The common room was empty. Calculating, she walked up the boys' staircase, and entered the third year dorm.

Sirius was standing by the window, staring out into the night.

"It's a rather pathetic place to hide, you know," Marlene remarked as she walked towards him. "Everyone will be here soon."

Sirius whirled around at her voice, startled. "Marlene?" But after the shock, his eyes grew cold. "What are you doing here? It's my dorm. Get out."

Marlene flinched. What was wrong with him? But she forced herself not to blow up. "Your dorm did nothing to kick me out. I don't see what you can do about it."

"Just go away, Marlene," Sirius rubbed his temple wearily.

"Why, Sirius?" Marlene had moved very close to him. "What's the problem? We've been worried about you. We all want to talk to you."

"And what if _I_ don't?" Sirius snapped, his eyes grey orbs of ice.

That did it. Marlene couldn't keep calm any longer. She punched him in the face. With a yelp of surprise and pain, Sirius fell to the floor.

"What is _wrong_ with you, Sirius Black?" Marlene lowered herself to his level. "We have been worrying sick about you, and this is what you do? Shut yourself away? Do you care... do you fucking care—" To her mortification, Marlene felt tears slip from her eyes. And before she could stop herself, she was sobbing uncontrollably.

The mask had slipped from Sirius' face. Wiping his nose, which now dripped blood, he moved close to Marlene.

"Marlene? Marls, what's wrong?" He wiped away her tears with his fingers. Marlene tried to jerk away, but he held her close to him. "Now, Marlene, please, don't cry."

"W-what's wrong?" Marlene hiccupped. "Everything is wrong. What is the problem, Sirius Black? Why won't you talk to us?"

Sirius looked away. "And why would you want to talk to me?"

Marlene stared. "What?"

"I couldn't do anything to help you, Marlene. While you fought, I sat in my home like a prize goose. I didn't even know if you were alive! You, James, Peter, Remus, your brothers, all got hurt, and I did nothing. Nothing!"

Marlene stared at him for a moment, and then threw herself at him.

"You — you... _ass_!" she hugged him tighter. "Was that why you were closed off?"

"I— yes, Marlene, please let go!" It was Sirius' yelp that caused her to jump back.

"Sirius.. What..." He was massaging his chest. "Are you hurt?"

"No.. I.." he looked away.

"Open your shirt," she commanded. When he didn't listen, she ripped it off herself. And gasped. On his chest was an ugly purple bruise, as large as her fist. And on his back... Marlene could see one, two, three long scars.

"What happened?" she whispered, aghast.

"Rodolphus got me," Sirius replied quietly. "And on the back... my father wasn't exactly pleased when mother told him about my escapade."

"Oh Merlin, Sirius..." Marlene didn't know what to say. She reached over to him, and put her arms very gently around him.

"You are an idiot, you know," she whispered into his shoulder even as he hugged her back, her tears wetting his bare skin. "A very, very brave, amazing idiot."

And as his warmth enveloped her, giving her a comfort only Sirius was capable of, Marlene smiled through her tears.

* * *

 **That ends this episode. How was it? Please let me know. Until next chapter, guys :)**


	9. Furry Little Problem

**Hi, I'm back. Thanks to JennaLynne1 for favouriting and following and MyFlutteringWings for favouriting.**

 **But guys, why am I not getting any reviews? Only one review in the second last chapter, and none at all for the last! So, here's me begging, *whiny voice* "Please, please, please give me a little review, my lovelies! Pretty please? Virtual love to all."**

 **Anyway, for those who might have found the last two chapters rather intense, here's a light one for your entertainment. And you might be disappointed at my reverting back to short chapters, but as I explained, large parts of this story were really written pretty much long ago, just waiting to be put together. You might even be able to spot the difference between the past writing and the current writing. I'm working on it to my best, promise.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

 **Furry Little Problem**

 _27th January, 1974_

The Sunday evening saw a packed Gryffindor common room, with all the students determined on keeping out of reach of the cold wind that blew around the castle. The common room was warm and cosy, the red-decked walls accentuating the warmth of the crackling fire in the hearth. There were groups of students scattered around with their respective pastimes, the whole room alive with the rumble of collective chatter.

Marlene and Lily sat near the fire, their feet stretched out towards the warmth of the flames. Lily was talking to her best friend animatedly with her hands moving in quick gestures, complementing her words.

"And then he asked me if I had been invited to the Slug Club party, and I said yes, and — Marlene, are you even listening?" Lily turned to see her best friend staring at the corner of the room where four boys were talking to each other in a huddle.

"What? Oh, er — yeah, of course I was," Marlene said, jumping slightly. Lily had been going on and on about how Edmund Powell, a handsome Hufflepuff fourth year, had asked her out to Slughorn's party, to which she had been invited anyway.

"I don't think so..." Lily said shrewdly. The truth was that Lily was, as usual, correct in her observation. Marlene's entire attention had been focused on James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. No, of course it wasn't with any romantic intent. She was trying to listen in to the Marauders' conversation. The boys weren't usually quiet, especially not on an evening like this. Commonly, James and Sirius would be seen cracking loud jokes or pulling random pranks or generally causing a ruckus which would cause Lily to dislike them even more, Remus would be giving them mildly disapproving looks or gently berating them, but with a fond, indulging light in his eyes, and Peter would be laughing or cheering or whatever would please the duo and take their ego to even greater heights. Yes, Marlene thought with a fond smile and a shake of her head, the Marauders were quite the package. So watching them mutter to each other, huddled in a group, was a really strange, and pretty rare occurrence. Marlene was by nature curious, and the strange way in which the four were behaving was taking her curiosity to the peak. What was it that the Marauders were discussing? What could be so serious that the boys couldn't bother to provide some entertainment to themselves and the others, unlike always? She _had_ to know.

"If you don't mind, I will just go up to the dorm for a second," she said, and ignoring the narrow-eyed look Lily was giving her, rose from her armchair. She made a point to walk close to the spot where the Marauders were sitting, and slowed down her pace as she came near them, so that as she passed, she managed to catch snippets of their conversation. They were all engrossed in their conservation, and none of them noticed her.

"— two days later," Peter was saying.

"—such a trouble to you—" James said, and she saw Remus nod his head with a grimace.

"Don't worry — always with you —" Sirius said, giving Remus a pat on the back. The sandy-haired boy looked at him gratefully.

The next bits of their words were drowned in the noise of a bunch of girls giggling loudly. Straining to hear over the cacophony, Marlene managed to hear the final part of the conversation.

"Poor Remus," James said, "you and your furry little problem." The boys all laughed at this, presumably at the title he had used for whatever they were talking about.

"Why don't we go nick something from the kitchens now?" Sirius offered, and at the eager nods from his companions (a rather reluctant one from Remus), rose from his armchair, and the other three followed suit.

Some other time, Marlene would have wondered where on earth the entrance to the kitchens was and just how to get in there, but now, she quickly ran up the staircase before the boys could realise that she had been listening in. She came down the staircase seconds later, only to see Sirius' back disappearing behind the portrait hole. Her eavesdropping had done nothing to satiate her curiosity, only ignited it further. Deciding that Lily could wait a bit longer, she rushed after the Black heir.

"Sirius, hey, Sirius!"

It had been months since the Diagon Alley incident, and the painful memories had been almost completely removed from their minds, and certainly from the forefront of their thoughts. After that confrontation with her, Sirius had let go of his reservations, although he had apologised profusely to the other three boys, much to their discomfiture. Personally, everyone had decide that they preferred a cocky, cheerful Sirius to the downtrodden, withdrawn and guilty version. But anyway, everything was fine now, the year moving on as fast as ever.

She stopped Sirius a few paces from the Fat Lady on the corridor outside. He turned around, surprised.

"Marlene! What is it?"

"I — need to ask you — something," she panted. He waited till she had reached him, and looked at her questioningly. She didn't waste any time beating around the bush.

"What's Remus' furry little problem?"

He paled slightly.

"You were listening in on our conversation." She nodded sheepishly.

"So, what is this problem?"

He shrugged, turning away from her. "Can't tell you about it, Marls. It's not my secret to tell. You have to figure it out on your own, if you can." He gave her a backward glance. "And I suppose I should advise you not to eavesdrop upon private conversations from now on," he added with a slight twitch to his lips.

She gave an undignified snort. Sirius Black, telling her to keep her nose out of other people's business? What about him, sneaking up on her and Lily when they were talking, trying to get information for James? Disregarding his words completely, she fell into step with him.

"What is it, Sirius?" she persisted. "Surely it can't be that serious? — No don't even try it," she added threateningly as she saw him opening his mouth with a smirk on his face. "I don't want to hear anything that involves your name. I'm tired of your silly puns."

"Aw, what's the fun in that?" Sirius pouted. "Can't I even say my name?"

Marlene didn't reply to that but went on with the deflected conversation.

"So what is it? Come on, Sirius, I'm your friend. You can tell _me_." She have him her best pleading look. He sighed, a trifle annoyed.

"I told you, Marlene. I can't tell you what we were talking about." He waggled his eyebrows annoyingly. "Marauders' secret."

Marlene huffed. That 'Marauders' secret', she hated that phrase. It always was the end of all arguments. Even though Marlene was so close to them, the boys would not let her into their closest secrets. It was a rather irritating thought, but Marlene had accepted it long ago — she was not a Marauder, never would be. And to be honest, she didn't really want to be. Except when secrets like this came in the way. The Marauders' secrets usually involved tricks to their pranks, so Marlene wasn't really interested in them, bit now, this was different. Now, she really, really wanted to find this was all about.

But Sirius was being terribly unhelpful. Marlene huffed angrily. He wouldn't tell him about what Remus' problem was? Very well, she'd find it out on her own.

Trying with some effort to keep up with his now increased pace, Marlene frowned, thinking furiously as she walked. She searched for the possible answers in her head. Furry little problem. _Furry — little —problem_. Her brain worked liked cogwheels as they walked side by side in silence. Finally, she got it. Yes, of course, that had to be the answer.

"A rabbit!"

Sirius whipped around, his eyes darting towards the floor. "What? Where is it?"

"No, Remus' problem! It's a rabbit!"

He stopped suddenly, and blinked, his lips parted slightly. "Sorry?"

"That's what the furry little problem is!" Marlene's face was flushed in triumph. "A rabbit! Remus must have a pet rabbit, which is ill or badly behaved. It fits that way. A rabbit is furry and little, and if it is naughty, then it is a problem." She turned to Sirius. "It's very nice of you lot to help him with his pet. I understand that it must be embarrassing for him, and perhaps he even has to go through all kinds of trouble because rabbits aren't conventionally allowed as pets at Hogwarts. But you didn't need to keep it a secret, you know, at least not from me. My aunt once had a bunny which was just as troublesome, and the poor thing once almost fell into a well while scampering away. I understand."

Sirius stood staring at at her in silence, and an array of emotions flitted through his face, too fast for Marlene to catch. Then the right corner of his lips began twitching uncontrollably. His face, for some odd reason, was turning redder by the second.

"You are a genius, Marlene," he gasped out. "I'd never thought you'd figure it out so soon. Took us ages." He was shaking slightly now, as if suppressing a violent urge to laugh. "Excuse me a moment, I will go and tell Remus." And with that, he fled down the corridor, leaving a choking sound in his wake.

It was a minute after he left that Marlene realised that she had been played. Of course it was all wrong. Sirius' behaviour was enough to tell that. Now she had made a fool of herself in front of him. She groaned. _Why do I so severely lack in brains?_

Defeated, she turned away, beginning her return journey to the common room. It would have been so much better if she hadn't tried at all. She had exhausted both her physical and mental capacity, all for nothing. _But there will be one day,_ she thought, making a silent promise to herself, when I will get to know the truth _. And it won't be too far away._ With that, she went back to Lily to hear the rest of her narrative out. At least there she wouldn't look like an idiot.

* * *

 **So how was it? A tiny little review please, kind soul?**


	10. Babysitting

**Hey all! I'm back with the next chapter. Thanks to bhanusripalle for reviewing and favouriting, and MyFlutteringWings for favouriting. And of course to Kalavinka for your constant support. I can never thank you enough.**

 **Him and Her just crossed a thousand reads, and I am really happy about that :) A heart full of thanks to all my readers.**

 **By the way guys (I know it's old news) did you try the patronus quiz in Pottermore? I got an eagle. What's your patronus? And your house? Tell me!**

 **Before you read the chapter, I hope you aren't very allergic to fluff, because there's going to be some of it, and no darkness, in the next few chapters. If so, I'm sorry; I'll make up for it in the future. This chapter marks the end of our beloved Marauders' third year; this is set during the summer holidays before the start of fourth year.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Babysitting**

 _7th July, 1974_

The sitting room of 12, Grimmauld Place was silent. A warm fire burnt in the old fireplace, and sitting by its warmth, a dark haired boy flipped across the pages of a book. His hair often fell into his eyes, clouding his vision, forcing him to brush it away with mild impatience.

The fire crackled now and then, and from the kitchens, the sound of utensils clanking, as Kreacher worked on the dinner, could be heard, but apart from that, the house was quiet.

"Sirius?" a female voice suddenly called from the fireplace.

The boy jumped at the sound, and fell off his chair in shock, landing on the floor, book and all.

Dusting himself up, he looked at the fire. Where there had only been flames and burning logs, now sat a head — a pretty face with blonde locks falling on it.

"Sirius?" the girl asked again, looking at him.

"Sorry, do you want my brother?" Regulus Black asked with as much politeness and dignity as he could muster after suffering from a rather embarrassing fall. The girl's eyes widened in understanding.

"Oh, you must be Regulus!" she smiled at him a little. "I've heard a lot about you from Sirius. Would you mind calling him? I'm Marlene McKinnon."

Still a bit dumbstruck, Regulus nodded, and hurried away up the stairs to his brother's room. Sirius was sprawled on the bed, snoring.

"Sirius!" Regulus took hold of his brother's shoulder and shook him. "Wake up!"

"Get away, Kreacher," Sirius mumbled into the sheets. "Sirius, it's me, Regulus. And Marlene McKinnon is asking for you!" Regulus tried again.

The mention of the girl's name had an immediate effect. Sirius sat up in bed, wide awake at once, making his younger brother wonder just how significant the girl was to him.

"Marlene? What? Where is she?"

"Downstairs."

Sirius blinked. "Don't be silly, Reg. There's no way Marlene can be in the house," he frowned at his brother.

"But she is!" Regulus insisted. "She's got her head in the fire!" He added excitedly, "How does she do that?"

Sirius' eyes widened as comprehension hit him, and he gave his brother an affectionate grin.

"Oh, Reg, you can easily do it with floo powder. The poor girl must have grazed her knees sitting on the floor for so long by now," he added with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Let's go."

A few seconds later, the two boys were rushing downstairs. They came to a standstill before the fireplace. Marlene's head was still there, looking around with a bored look.

"Hiya, Marls," Sirius greeted her.

Marlene's face broke into a smile, but her eyes narrowed. "Took your time, didn't you, you lazy bugger?" she said in an accusatory way. Sirius only gave her a wink and shrugged.

"Thank Merlin you appeared at last, anyway. Come with me."

The dark-haired Gryffindor frowned, puzzled. "Hey, hey, hey, lady, slow down! Firstly, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Mum and dad are out with all the rest of my siblings, and I've been left behind to babysit Maria. She's driving me nuts, Sirius, I need your help!"

Sirius rolled his eyes affectionately.

"All right, I'm coming. But I can't stay for long." He picked up a pinch of the floo powder kept on the mantle.

"Tell mother I've gone to play with the muggles on the street if she comes back early," he grinned mischievously at his brother, and threw the powder into the flames. "The McKinnons' house!" he barked out into the fire, and stepping in, vanished in a roaring flash of emerald flames, leaving Regulus standing there with raised eyebrows.

-o0o-

Sirius straightened up into the McKinnons' sitting room, dusting soot and ash off his dress. His friend was standing a few feet away, beaming at the sight of him. Once she had ascertained that he was free of dirt, she rushed forward and wrapped him in a tight hug. He couldn't help his smile at that; try as he might, he couldn't deny that he loved being hugged by her; he was one of the few, very few individuals who were allowed that privilege, and her hugs made him surprisingly warm and content.

"Thanks for coming, Sirius! You're the best friend a person could ever ask for!" her sweet voice chirped into his shoulder. He tried to keep a straight face but couldn't stop beaming at her cheerful mood.

"You're lucky that I wrote about my parents' invitation to the Notts' dinner party. How would you have managed things otherwise?"

"Oh, I'd have blasted the door of your house back and whisked you away right under your parents' noses," she said with a completely straight face. He laughed.

"So where is our little troublemaker?" Sirius asked, looking round. Marlene groaned.

"I wish I knew. Merlin, Sirius, I'm sick of kids."

"No, you know you aren't," he grinned, lifting her off the ground and swinging her round.

"I suppose you're right," she chuckled once she was dropped back to her feet, "because I simply can't hate you, can I, you big baby?"

"Hey, I'm offended!"

Laughter rung off the walls of the sitting room as the two ran around in a playful chase. Sirius couldn't remember a single day in the rest of his summer holidays when he had enjoyed himself so much. He was glad he had mentioned about the Notts' dinner party in passing in one of his letters to her last week.

"Sirius!" Marlene laughed helplessly as Sirius grabbed her down to the couch and tickled her without mercy. "Enough! We need to go find Maria."

Sirius relented, allowing her to sit up and then pulling her up to her feet. "Okay, so we need to find your sister. Did you try calling to her?"

"I did. But the cheeky little devil won't bother to respond. See," she raised her voice, "Maria, come down at once! Maria, come on!"

They waited for a minute or so for a response. Nothing happened.

"Alright," Sirius laughed, "I'll try. Hey Maria!" he called out loud. "It's me, Sirius! I'm here to play with you. Come to me so that we can have lots of fun!"

There were a few seconds of silence. Sirius saw Marlene open her mouth to say something, most likely, "See, I told you," but suddenly, there came a pattering of footsteps on the stairs, and a small head with a tousled mass of blonde hair and features very similar to her older sister peeked from the doorway.

"Really?" The little girl asked curiously, "Are you really Sirius?" Sirius grinned and gave a sidelong glance at his friend, who was now gaping like a fish.

"Yes, I'm Sirius Black," he said to Maria. "Would you mind coming to me? Let's be friends."

The young girl looked at him appraisingly, and then nodded. "Do you play house?"

Sirius wasn't exactly sure what that was supposed to be, but he nodded anyway. "Sure! Let's do it."

Forty five minutes later, he found himself pretending to drink tea from a toy cup for the fourth time and nibbling on his sixth choco-chip cookie (which was actually quite good).

"Would you like some more sugar?" Maria asked. "Er, yeah, I guess," Sirius managed. He shared a look with Marlene, and her expression clearly said, 'Now you know how I feel about this'. He sure empathised with her now. He hadn't had the best of childhoods, but he was infinitely glad that he hadn't had to play at having a tea party with Regulus.

"Marlene talks a lot about you, you know," Maria said suddenly in the act of pretend-stirring sugar in her cup.

"Hey, I don't!" her elder sister protested immediately.

"She does." Maria put on that smug air that kids often do when they think they know more than their elders. "I know that you like blue macaroons, that you got detention from your professor till the end of school year last year, that you have three other friends, and that Marley likes y—" But she could say no more, because Marlene had clapped her hand firmly over her mouth.

"That is enough," she said firmly but dripping sweetness. "Maria, you should have a little nap, shouldn't you? You must be so tired from playing..."

"Mmmph!" Maria protested, but then Marlene swung her over her shoulder and strode out of the room. Maria's screams of protest could be heard even from the upper floor.

"That was solved." Marlene returned after two minutes. "I locked her in her room." She plonked down in the couch beside Sirius. "That was some bother!"

"Why did you stop her?" Sirius asked, a sly grin creeping into his face. Marlene reddened.

"Nothing. She talks too much."

"Didn't seem like nothing to me."

She huffed. "You know what? You talk too much as well."

And without warning, she began an onslaught of tickling on him.

"M-Marlene! What—?" Sirius gasped, doubling up in laughter.

"Payback time!" the blonde sang out gleefully, pushing him down and climbing on top of him.

"Hey, no, stop —" After ten minutes of playful struggle and loads of tickling, Marlene collapsed on top of Sirius.

"Thanks for coming," she sighed to her friend. "You lit up the day."

"As did you," Sirius admitted, yawning.

"Y'know, I think I'll catch a wink," Marlene mumbled. "I'm just so..." she yawned, "... tired. Let's hope Maria's fallen asleep." And without further ado, her eyes shut.

Sirius was wondering what to do with her as a dead weight over him, but with his eyes slipping shut on their own as he watched her, he didn't get much of a choice.

-o0o-

"Well, well, well! What do we have here?" A gleeful voice woke Sirius up. He sat up hurriedly, and sent Marlene sprawling in the process.

"Wha—?" the young McKinnon sat up on the floor, groggily massaging her head. Marlene's elder brothers, Michael and Malcolm, were grinning at them.

"Looks like we have an item over here!" Malcolm laughed. "Sirius and Marlene sitting in a tree —"

"— K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Michael finished.

"Shut up, you two!" Marlene grumbled, scowling. Her face was red. Sirius was pretty sure his was of the same colour.

"We weren't —" he began, but then his eyes fell on the clock. "Merlin, I'm late! Mother will surely be back by now!" He hurried to the fireplace without losing a second. "Bye Marlene! I had fun! Bye guys! See you later."

"Yeah, come soon!" Michael called. "Or our dear Marley poo will get heartsick."

"Michael!" Marlene screamed. But Sirius heard no further, as he threw the floo powder in and disappeared into the emerald flames.

 _The day went really good,_ was his only thought as he landed out of the fireplace in 12, Grimmauld Place, a goofy grin on his face. That is, until he saw his mother's murderous expression as she sat in an armchair by the fire, Regulus cowering by her side.

"SIRIUS!"

 _Oh, well, let's deal with it_ , Sirius thought as he stepped forward to face his mother's wrath, Marlene's flushed, smiling face still stuck in his mind.

* * *

 **How is it going, then? I can see how exceedingly fluffy that is, but what can I say, it's a creation of about a year ago. Anyway, tell me what you think about it. Suggestions? Questions? Fire off! Until next time, friends.**


	11. Midnight Song

**And the romance approacheth, little by little! Don't get your hopes up that they'll get together anytime soon, though; this is only the beginning. :)**

 **Thsnks to ginny1701.x for reviewing.**

 **The song used here is God Only Knows by Beach Boys.**

 **Disclaimer: I own neither the characters nor the song.**

* * *

 **Midnight Song**

 _14th November, 1974_

Sirius rummaged through his trunk and pulled out his spare inkpot, adding it to the little stack of things on the floor beside him — parchment, quills, his Potions book, and a couple of Chocolate Frogs.

The fourth year boys' dormitory was covered in darkness, all of its inhabitants except him being already asleep. Well, it was natural enough for them to be. He looked at the watch on James' bedside desk. It was nearly midnight.

His eyes moved to his bed; it looked so soft, so warm and welcoming. He wanted nothing more than to tumble down onto it and pull up the covers to his chest and fall into a deep sleep. But his Potions homework was due tomorrow, and he was yet to even begin it. His friends, curse them, had all finished it already, and were slumbering peacefully. Even after begging for the entire afternoon, Remus hadn't allowed Sirius to copy his essay. So here he was, the lone ranger, left alone to struggle in the dangerous forests of Potions. His gray eyes swept across the dormitory, as if hoping some sort of a heavenly rescuer to appear out of the darkness and finish his job for him, but nothing of the sort happened, of course.

His gaze once again returned to his beautiful bed. _What I wouldn't do to reunite with you, my love! Do not be afraid, for I will soon return to reclaim you after I defeat the evil Potions monster!_

Alright, he was being dramatic.

Picking up his stuff, he gave his sleeping friends his best glare, but none of them so much as stirred (Peter even gave an extra loud snore), so, defeated, he blearily shuffled to his feet and walked down to the common room. There was certainly nothing else to do other than finishing his homework.

His eyes completely focused on the first armchair that caught his sight, he stepped noiselessly into the common room, not bothering to look around him at all. He settled down into the chair, the dying fire in the common room casting a faint glow across the room, and began working on the essay.

The room was quiet, the silence of the night peaceful and calming, helping him to concentrate on his work. Although he was extremely irritated by the fact that he was forced to work while the others were asleep, he found himself realising that he'd rather work in this soothing silence than in a noisy, crowded common room.

But then the silence was broken.

Had it been something else, Sirius would have looked up and ordered the unexpected occupant in the common room to keep his noise to himself and not bother him; could he not see that he was working? But not now, because he suddenly seemed to be mesmerised in that wonderful sound that was slowly filling the common room. His head raised itself from his work on its own volition, his eyes widened in awe. Music, sweeter than anything he had ever heard was filling his ears, mind and senses. The lyrical strains of the song were floating to him from the other corner of the room.

 _I may not always love you_

 _But long as there are stars above you_

 _You never need to doubt it_

 _I'll make you so sure about it._

He had heard the song once somewhere, played by muggles. But even the original hadn't sounded so beautiful.

 _God only knows what I'd be without you_

 _If you should ever leave me_

 _Though life would still go on believe me_

 _The world could show nothing to me_

 _So what good would living do me._

He turned his head towards the source of the music. At the corner, sitting with her head bent low over a long parchment, was a familiar blonde girl. Her rosy lips were moving, the little notes flowing out in perfect harmony as her hand moved diligently over her work.

 _God only knows what I'd be without you_

 _If you should ever leave me_

 _Well life would still go on believe me_

 _The world could show nothing to me_

 _So what good would living do me._

He watched her, transfixed, all thoughts of his homework forgotten, his lips parted slightly as he looked on. Her golden ringlets were tumbling over her shoulders, the faint firelight giving her a bronzed aura, and combined with the steady tune which she sang on, she seemed nothing but an angel to him.

But then, his quill had to roll off his parchment and clatter to the floor. Stupid thing.

She looked up, startled, her song cut off mid-sentence. Her cheeks flushed pink as she realised he had been sitting there for quite a while.

"Sirius!"

Her exclamation jolted him out of the trance which her heavenly melody had induced. He blinked, his gaze slipping back to focus.

"Oh — hey Marls."

"I didn't realise you were down here," she smiled bashfully. "Homework?"

He nodded, and after a pause, said, "You sing beautifully. That was – that was the most amazing song I'd ever heard."

She blushed. "Thanks. I tend to hum when I am working, just to, you know, crack the monotony."

There was an awkward pause, in which Sirius found his eyes running up and down the girl in front of him. He thought of how sweet her voice has sounded, and wondered in a rare moment of poetic thoughtfulness (rare for him, anyway) how lovely it would be if she sang to him every night. Her eyes were so blue, and the firelight reflected in them seemed like fire in the midst of ocean water. Her curls, her figure, her smile – hell, everything about her was so perfect. For the first time since they met, Sirius Black truly appreciated just how beautiful Marlene McKinnon was.

"I think I'll just go to bed. I am done for the night," she said, breaking the silence, and scooped up her things in her arms. "Goodnight, Sirius."

She let her hand run through his hair as she passed, and his eyes closed on their own at her soft touch. And then, with a rustle of her dress, she was gone.

His mind lost itself in thought, thoughts of her, his homework lay forgotten. It was only when the fire finally flickered and died out that the realisation crossed his mind, and his eyes widened slightly.

The thoughts that he was just having about his best friend were far more than just friendly.

* * *

 **Yeah, this is short, but I just didn't know what else to add. Hope you like it. A little review, please? Just to tell me what you think?**


	12. Spin the Bottle

**And a little spike of romance again...!** **Thanks to melb5628 for following and ginny1701.x for the review. And to every one of my readers, of course. It's only for you that I write.**

 **This chapter is the last in our favourite characters' fourth year.**

 **Enjoy! And please leave a little review :)**

* * *

 **Spin the Bottle**

 _29th April, 1975_

"Yeah, I know that, but James is on the team too and he plays better than me, so why don't you ask him? Or better, ask Davies, he is the captain."

Marlene impatiently shook off Kevin Peters, turning to enter the common room. The second year had been pestering her all afternoon about Quidditch tryouts. Marlene was hardly ever this impolite, but her patience had run thin with the constant blabbering of the boy.

She looked around the Gryffindor common room for James, hoping to tell him to handle the overexcited student. She spotted the Marauders soon enough, fooling around as usual, talking and laughing. Sirius had cracked some sort of joke, and Peter was rolling on the floor, wheezing with laughter, while Remus shook his head, amusement written on his face nevertheless. But when she reached the place that James and his three friends had occupied, she stopped short.

"Er, James," she blinked at the boy, "I know you need glasses, but I don't think that your eyesight is so impaired that you can't tell that this bottle's empty." For James was holding an empty bottle of butterbeer close to him as he frolicked with his friends. The other three sniggered.

"I know that, Marlene." James replied calmly enough, looking up at her, "We thinking about playing Spin the Bottle."

She looked at them again. Four boys, no girls.

"Oh, I didn't know that you guys had a thing for each other," she teased. They all looked nauseated at that, amusement quickly wiped off from their faces.

"Ew, Marlene, never ever suggest that again," Remus implored. Marlene giggled.

"What? Who else do you have to kiss except each other?"

"Play with us," Sirius offered. Make that demanded.

"So that all of you get to kiss only me? No thanks."

There was a collective sigh of exasperation from the boys, and suddenly, Sirius was hollering out an advertisement for the game. Marlene's eyes widened. "Hey, no —"

But already, quite a few people were looking over at them, visibly interested. Marlene realise that there was no way of getting out of this.

James' eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at the girls' staircase. "Evans! Hey Evans! Come play Spin the Bottle with us!"

Marlene whipped around hopefully to see the other girls of her year — Lily Evans, Emmeline 'Emma' Vance, Alison Marlon and Mary MacDonald coming down the stairs. But as soon as Lily heard James, she froze, and then shaking off the coaxing efforts of her other friends, marched past past them all out of the common room, red in the face.

"What did she say?" James asked hopefully even as the others rolled their eyes in exasperation.

"That she would rather jump off the Astronomy Tower than give you any excuse to kiss her," Emmeline chuckled, squeezing past the crowd over to them. "Besides, apparently she has an evening planned with Snape in the library."

"Greazy git, that Snivellus," James wrinkled his nose. "Bad luck again, it seems," he sighed, and shook his head. "But she'll come around one day."

"But we're here, anyway, so let's begin!" Alison cheered, causing the Marauders to nod enthusiastically.

 _What did I drag myself into?_ Marlene thought as she shook her head, preparing herself for a busy evening.

After ten minutes, quite a large circle of students had been formed on the soft Gryffindor carpet, the participants ranging from a few daring first years to seventh years. The bottle was spun.

As the game progressed, Marlene began to have second thoughts about playing it. Sure, she got some nice snogs (and some admittedly poor ones as well), but that was just what the game was all about. The only fun was to see just how variant kisses could be — from barely there ones to ones that were nauseating due to excess of passion.

Matthew Davies was a great kisser (he was a great-looking bloke, too, although not quite her type; Marlene silently made a plan to set up Emma with her). She should never had agreed to kiss that second year, what's-his-name-Dawlish in the first place, and she teased James for being a horrible kisser for a solid five minutes (although, honestly speaking, he was quite good; Lily would be lucky if she managed to change her mind). As she watched Sarah Tanner, a sixth year, kiss Sirius and break into near hysteria, she began zoning out, her concentration drifting away from the game. Maybe she should have stopped Lily from going off to spend the evening with Snape. What she saw in that greasy git, she did not understand.

Her focus returned sometime later, and she looked down to see one end of the bottle pointed at her. She blinked, trailing her gaze to its other end, only to meet a darkly handsome teenager. Sirius.

Her eyes widened. All of a sudden, she felt very bashful. Heat was creeping up her neck. She met Sirius' eyes; he too looked nervous, and there were blotches of pink on his cheeks.

"What are we waiting for?" James asked, nudging his best friend. "Do it."

Sirius looked at her, and giving her the slightest of nods, leaned in. It's only a game, she told herself. She had kissed quite a few people this evening, and so she couldn't figure out why the prospect of kissing Sirius was making her jittery. Hadn't she kissed him so many times before, as well? On the forehead or cheeks, yes, but they could still be counted, right? It ought to...

His lips met hers, moulding them together effortlessly, and she lost her train of thought. Her eyes closed, she let her other senses enjoy the sensation. She had hardly begun to respond (with unexpected enthusiasm), her hands moving to grab his hair, when he pulled away.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she felt acutely aware of a strange sense of deprivation in her heart. For a second, she suddenly felt a wave of madness which urged her to grab him and start kissing him again, but she quickly mastered the strange desire. _What the hell am I thinking?_

Their kiss got a few appreciative grins and even a few wolf whistles, and then the game resumed. The bottle spun again. But Marlene's mind had gone far away from the game. The kiss had been quite ordinary, barely lasting two seconds, without much touching or anything, but there had been an undeniable flash of electricity that had run through her as their lips met. What was that all about?

"I think I will just call it a night," she heard herself say, rising from the circle. "Night, all."

There was a slight murmur of acknowledgement from the group at her words, but none of them paid much attention to her departure. As she walked up the stairs to the girls' dorm, she cast a last glance at the group, Sirius in particular. He wasn't looking at her, staring steadily at the spinning bottle, looking a bit unfocused (or was that her mind playing tricks on her?). Marlene watched as the bottle stopped between him and a third year girl, and as the girl grinned and Sirius leaned in mechanically to kiss her, she felt an unexpected wave of jealousy wash over her.

 _Hey, hey, hey, what's that all about?_

She hurried away up the rest of the stairs without looking back. She felt disoriented as she plopped down on her four-poster in her dormitory. Her mind kept playing back the kiss again and again, and with every image flashing across her mind, strange, unknown emotions kept rising in her heart.

 _It was just a game_ , she told herself sternly, _and he is one of my best friend_ s. But was that how things went?

* * *

 **And so the fourth year ends. I have this little announcement to make, friends. I am in my final school year, and the exams are nearing. So I'll be on hiatus till around May or so. I am so sorry. But please don't give up on me. This story will be finished, I promise. I'll start writing as soon as I'm free. Until then, goodbye. Wish me luck :)**


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